New Shirt

Tigi visited Daddy's school for the first time last week and 'needed' a new outfit for her debut. Really, she gave me the whole 'I don't have anything to wear' bit and everything. So I obliged the day before.


How could I disappoint a face like that?


Or was it this face?


This shirt from Gymboree was the inspiration. So lovin' their new spring line.

I've got a couple of friends having girls that just may get the exact same shirt...considering that I have a whole bolt of this fabric purchased from a thrift store...for four bucks...yep, you heard that right, four bucks. Rock.

Celebrate the Boy

I have been loving celebrating the boy this month with MADE and madebyrae. Every morning I wake up and check to find the day's boy inspired projects first thing.

This 90-min-shirt tutorial was calling my name, and despite the dozen half-finished projects waiting for my attention, I started one right away.

The tutorial was very easy to follow. Loved it. The only things I did or would do differently next time:

-Cut the ribbing two inches shorter and stretch it a little while sewing it on so that after it is sewn it will automatically pull itself back into the right shape. I did this on the cuffs and wish I had done it on the collar too.

-Also, I don't own a serger so I just rolled a 1/4 inch under on the top side of the ribbing before folding it in half. Then, I sewed two parallel lines about an 1/8 of an inch apart. I gives it a bit more polished look.

This is my first time working with knit and it was surprisingly less scary than expected especially when using my new ball point needle. It's nice to have the fabric give a little. And I'm so in love with the easiness of the envelope collar when setting in sleeves I just might marry one.

These Boots Were Made for Walkin'

So in love with these.

I used this pattern:
http://web.archive.org/web/20050612081043/http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/na_knitting/article/0,2025,DIY_14141_3148516,00.html

There is even an accompanying video:
http://www.diynetwork.com/videos/fashionable-baby-booties/4143.html

So in love with the top belonging to that pair of feet too.

Christmas Coat

If this little doll could have a coat this adorable, then why shouldn't my little doll have one too?


Merry Christmas little doll! Your first Christmas outfit. I had all sorts of plans for the traditional "Christmas Dress" to go with it, but, well, you weren't the only one I was giving handmade gifts to this year and I'm still getting used to this whole two kids thing. But don't worry. There's still Easter, and your uncle is getting married in May. There are plenty of dresses in your future.

I used McCalls Pattern 5739 as a starting point, and then changed everything. Why do I always have to complicate things? I lengthened the top, added a shortened ruffle, placket, pocket flaps, and changed the collar. Oh, and added a loop to make it look like a tied bow without adding bulk. I keep finding out new things about how babies are built every time I sew. Babies have practically no necks (like teddy bears) so even the collar was pushing it. Hence, a bulky bow was out. Besides, who wants to tie a knot every time you put on a coat. The ends of this collar just slide through the loop. I also tried out the bubble hemmed sleeves, but on a baby, they just looked too huge and unbalanced.

I wonder what I'll learn next time.

Mini Christmas Stockings

Posting these got a little lost in all the holiday hubbub.









I made them for my SIL, and now I'm wishing I'd made some for myself. There's always next year.

You can find the pattern at:
http://littlecottonrabbits.typepad.co.uk/free_knitting_patterns/2007/06/knitted_mini_ch.html

Dreams Do Come True!

I can hardly believe it! My blessing dress was featured in Grosgrain's Flickr Favs last week! This is such a big deal to me. She's huge in the sewing/blogging world! I feel like the nerd who just got noticed by the head cheerleader, and she said such nice things!

This lady is the reason I started sewing again so it means all the more to me. I've always enjoyed sewing, but didn't realized how much until I discovered her blog a year and a half ago. She makes these gorgeous dresses and gives them away. Seeing them made me want to sew again...so I pulled out the sewing machine even though I didn't have a little girl to sew for back then. (I sewed for Liam when I could, but there just aren't very many boy patterns, and he's not all that keen on dress-up. Go figure.) The rest is history.

Somebody pinch me. I still think I must be dreaming.

Blessing Dress

This just may be the pinnacle of my sewing career. I'm so excited with how it turned out.
This is Teagan's baby blessing dress. (A baby blessing in the LDS church is kind of like a christening in other churches.)

I'm so proud of this one because I actually made my own pattern and tatted the lace trimmings myself. It is definitely my most ambitious endeavor. Months in the works.

When I was having major trouble sleeping while pregnant, I thought about this dress. Here are the original sketches from my sketch book that I keep next to my bed:

Thinking about it now, I wonder if it was really excitement and anxiety over this dress and other projects that kept me up and not pregnancy after all.

I love the sunset lighting on the pictures above, but these pictures below are truer to the real color and show better detail.

The tatting on the jacket:

(The pattern for the lace on the sleeves comes from the book A New Twist on Tatting by Catherine Austin. I just added the pearl beads to her pattern. The frog closures are my own creation. If you want the pattern, email me.)

The ruffles on the dress inspired by Butterick pattern B4967 which I just may have to purchase now:

The proud Momma and her baby:

In some ways this dress is a sort of tribute to those who have taught me so much. My mom who taught me to use a sewing machine and read a pattern. My grandma who could whip up a jacket in no time and whose patterns (bought and made) I inherited. I can see her wearing sleeves just like the ones on this dress. My other grandma who taught me to keep learning. Emma Vogel who taught me to knit in exchange for house cleaning. The thread for the tatting came from her as did most of my knitting needles. Caroline Nelson who taught me (and my husband!) to tat just after we were married. Her husband could tat too, by the way, but I'm the only one who's kept it up in our family.

I'm not sure whether Teagan will like to create as much as I do, but at least she'll know and have something to show that I liked to create...for her.

Bolt Costume

Happy Halloween from the cast of Disney's Bolt!
(From left to right: Penny, Mittens, Green-Eyed Man (Dr. Calico), and Bolt)

For Liam's Bolt costume I used Simplicty pattern 2855. It was a very easy to follow pattern and worked up quickly. A costume staple. I highly recommend it. So many options.

To make the ears a little more sticky-upy and Bolt-like I just enlarged the cat ears provided in the pattern and added an extra layer of felt on the inside.

For the tail, I altered the cat tail provided in the pattern making it thicker overall and widening the end even more.

Take away the lightning bolt and the collar and the costume is a dead ringer for the wolf costume in Where the Wild Things Are so we just may use this one again next year if it still fits. Who am I kidding? I'm going to want to make a totally different costume just for fun. Suggestions welcome.

Curtains for Liam's Room

I finished these just before the baby came but haven't had a chance to post them until now.

Just plain inexpensive muslin embellished with pleats and fabric covered buttons.

Because Liam and Teagan will be sharing a room, I needed something that would work for both a boy and a girl. The pleats add a little femininity for Teagan but the tailored look keeps it masculine enough for Liam. In my mind anyway.

I rarely come up with stuff completely on my own. I copy and combine. Here are the curtains I found online at Sears (I think) that served as inspiration for this project:

Paw Mittens

Halloween is a BIG deal in our home. I start thinking about costumes at the beginning of each summer hoping to be ahead of the game and finish them in August. Do I ever? No, but I still enjoy thinking about them. I guess I just didn't get my fill of costumes as a kid.

This year there are four of us, and Liam is getting old enough to pick his own costumes so this may end up being our last themed Halloween. :(

These days Liam is WAY into pretending. I answer to the name of "Penny" more than I answer to "Momma," and I'm constantly reminded by a certain three-year-old, "No, not Liam...Bolt." So Disney's Bolt was the obvious choice for this year.

As Liam also reminds me, Bolt has paws, not hands. (It's amazing the chores that can't be done with Bolt paws, by the way.) I used this pattern for Liam's paws:

http://afghansforafghans.org/mittens.html

Then, I sewed on the "paw prints" made of craft felt by hand. Just a sort of Lima bean and some circles.